HOUSE BILL REPORT

HB 2383

As Reported by House Committee On:

Higher Education

Appropriations Subcommittee on Education

Title: An act relating to integrating career and college readiness standards into K-12 and higher education policies and practices.

Brief Description: Integrating career and college readiness standards into K-12 and higher education policies and practices.

Sponsors: Representatives Reykdal, Tarleton, Pollet, Stonier, Tharinger, Ryu, Morrell, S. Hunt, Gregerson, Freeman and Santos.

Brief History:

Committee Activity:

Higher Education: 1/24/14, 1/29/14 [DPS];

Appropriations Subcommittee on Education: 2/6/14 [DP2S(w/o sub HE)].

Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. Signed by 13 members: Representatives Seaquist, Chair; Pollet, Vice Chair; Gregerson, Hansen, Johnson, Magendanz, Reykdal, Sawyer, Sells, Tarleton, Walkinshaw, Walsh and Wylie.

Minority Report: Do not pass. Signed by 6 members: Representatives Haler, Ranking Minority Member; Zeiger, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Hargrove, Muri, Scott and Smith.

Staff: Megan Wargacki (786-7194).

Background:

The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), in consultation with the State Board of Education (SBE), is authorized to maintain and revise a statewide academic assessment system to measure student knowledge and skills on state learning standards. The assessment system must include reading, writing, mathematics, and science for elementary, middle, and high school years. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are the state learning standards for English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics. Beginning in the 2014-15 school year, the eleventh grade assessment in ELA and mathematics will be set at a College and Career Readiness level (CCR). The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are a set of learning standards for science that will be implemented in the 2016-17 school year.

The SBE also establishes graduation requirements, such as the High School and Beyond Plan, which is a formal process designed to help middle school and high school students identify career and college pathways, so they can align their courses with their post-high school goals.

The Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) establishes policies and requirements for the preparation and certification of education professionals, and is an advisory body to the OSPI.

The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) provides leadership, coordination, and services for the 32 public community and technical colleges.

In November 2013 the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) adopted the Ten-Year Roadmap that sets out a plan to increase educational attainment in Washington.

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Summary of Substitute Bill:

The following state education agencies must perform certain analyses and submit recommendations to the WSAC with their available resources:

• The SBE must identify options and strategies to make the High School and Beyond program a more rigorous and meaningful tool.

• The OSPI must consult with career and technical educators and directors to identify and recommend specific strategies and resources needed to embed the CCSS and the NGSS into community and technical college curricula.

• The PESB must examine the strategies being used to incorporate the CCSS and the NGSS into educator certification and the review process used to assure that all educators can support students learning of the CCSS and the NGSS.

• The SBCTC must continue to develop courses for high school seniors who did not meet the CCR standard.

• The WSAC must analyze dual credit courses as a key strategy for increasing CCR and educational attainment.

The WSAC must convene the agencies at least three times in 2014 to address these tasks and those in the Ten-Year Roadmap to ensure each agency's strategies and recommendations are aligned. The WSAC and the education agencies are encouraged to consult with the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board (WTECB), labor representatives, and business representatives. The WSAC must create a single report based on the recommendations of the education agencies and submit it to the Legislature by December 1, 2014.

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill:

The substitute bill:

• references the next generation science standards each time the common core state standards are referenced;

• provides that the provisions must be accomplished within the educational agencies' available resources; and

• encourages the WSAC and other education agencies to consult with the WTECB, labor representatives, and business representatives when developing their strategies and recommendations.

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Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Effective Date of Substitute Bill: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(In support) This bill does not change policy around graduation requirements, the tenth and eleventh grade testing, or admissions. Educational agencies should not be paid more to do their jobs as described in this bill. Hard work is being done to improve issues around remediation, in order to accelerate student progress toward degrees or certificates. Reaching into high schools and partnering with students before they get to college is key. Alignment work is critical. High schools and colleges are all working together; they are not silos. This bill is directly aligned with strategies for improving college readiness and expanding dual credit programs. This bill echoes work already established in the Ten-Year Roadmap, i.e. agencies called out in the bill, and the WSAC should maintain a close working relationship with other education agencies. Standards leading K-12 students into higher education prepares kids for success when they go to the universities. This bill will result in nothing but benefits. The High School and Beyond Plan is a central tool used to ensure children graduate with meaningful diplomas. Far too many high school graduates are not prepared for postsecondary education. Dual credit programs are spotty and uneven. Schools that have worked to establish College in the High School have high rates of children going to college, many of those students being low-income or first generation. By completing dual credit courses, students are now ahead when they start college and closer to meaningful jobs. This achievement can change kids' lives. High school to college is a complex transition. This bill takes seriously the massive transition to CCSS and next generation science standards. Teachers and counselors in K-12 and higher education are saying that the time necessary to make this critical transition is more challenging than is recognized. There is a variety of work being done on the CCSS; some people have not heard of it, others are already starting training on it. There will be initial issues around students not passing the assessments and not graduating. Hopefully, this bill will address some of these issues. The K-12 teachers and counselors in high school and college would like to be called out in this bill. The WTECB and Employment Security Department might need to be included in the discussion, too. The SBE's intent is that the new, more rigorous standards are implemented successfully. The SBE wants to make the High School and Beyond Plan a more rigorous and meaningful tool. The SBE members have already expressed interest in beginning this work. This bill is a complement to work already underway to communicate the CCSS throughout the state and embed it into the education system. Students should be setup to be successful. Remediation is about 50 percent, so the CCSS will help students be prepared, however, remediation is always a concern. The job skills gap was identified with about 25,000 jobs unfilled for over three months. The CCSS will help prepare students to fill these openings.

(Opposed) None.

Persons Testifying: Representative Reykdal, prime sponsor; Bill Moore, State Board for Community and Technical Colleges; Rebecca Kenna-Schenk, Washington Student Achievement Council; Matthew Bobbink, Washington Student Association and Western Washington University Associated Students; Frank Ordway, League of Education Voters; Wendy Rader-Konofalski, Washington Education Association; Julia Suliman, Washington State Board of Education; and Anne Heavey, Partnership for Learning and Washington Roundtable.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.

Majority Report: The second substitute bill be substituted therefor and the second substitute bill do pass and do not pass the substitute bill by Committee on Higher Education. Signed by 10 members: Representatives Haigh, Chair; Fagan, Ranking Minority Member; Carlyle, Dahlquist, Haler, Lytton, Pettigrew, Seaquist, Sullivan and Wilcox.

Staff: Catrina Lucero (786-7192).

Summary of Recommendation of Committee On Appropriations Subcommittee on Education Compared to Recommendation of Committee On Higher Education:

The substitute bill adds a null and void clause.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Effective Date of Second Substitute Bill: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed. However, the bill is null and void unless funded in the budget.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(In support) This bill had bipartisan support coming out of the House Higher Education Committee. There has been a lot of discussion related to 24 credits and high school graduate requirements this session. There is support for high core standards in our courses. We need to make sure that these things are aligned across K-12 and post-secondary education to ensure that we can get the credit equivalencies of career and technical education courses. The bill simply tells the five education agencies identified that they have a year to align core standards. This will ensure that an eleventh grade assessment or additional courses in a student's senior year all line up. The SBTCT is already working with K-12 and college faculty to build transition courses in math.

(Opposed) None.

Persons Testifying: Representative Reykdal, prime sponsor; and Tim Knue, Washington Association for Career and Technical Educators.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.